What's inside
What's inside
Key Ingredients
Benefits
Concerns
Ingredients Side-by-side
Water
Skin ConditioningGlycerin
Humectant
Prunus Amygdalus Dulcis Oil
Skin Conditioning
Cetearyl Alcohol
Emollient
Butyrospermum Parkii Butter
Skin Conditioning
Leuconostoc/Radish Root Ferment Filtrate
Antimicrobial
Propanediol
Solvent
Cera Alba
Emollient
Rosa Centifolia Flower Water
Skin ConditioningCetearyl Glucoside
Emulsifying
Cetyl Palmitate
Emollient
Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice
Skin Conditioning
Xanthan Gum
EmulsifyingSodium Phytate
Helianthus Annuus Seed Oil
Emollient
Oryza Sativa Extract
Absorbent
Tocopherol
Antioxidant
Actinidia Chinensis Fruit Extract
EmollientOctyldodecyl Myristate
EmollientFragaria Vesca Fruit Extract
AstringentCalendula Officinalis Flower Extract
Masking
Zea Mays Starch
Absorbent
Pyrus Malus Fruit Extract
Skin Conditioning
Sodium Benzoate
Masking
Potassium Sorbate
Preservative
Citric Acid
Buffering
Sodium Levulinate
Skin ConditioningWater, Glycerin, Prunus Amygdalus Dulcis Oil, Cetearyl Alcohol, Butyrospermum Parkii Butter, Leuconostoc/Radish Root Ferment Filtrate, Propanediol, Cera Alba, Rosa Centifolia Flower Water, Cetearyl Glucoside, Cetyl Palmitate, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice, Xanthan Gum, Sodium Phytate, Helianthus Annuus Seed Oil, Oryza Sativa Extract, Tocopherol, Actinidia Chinensis Fruit Extract, Octyldodecyl Myristate, Fragaria Vesca Fruit Extract, Calendula Officinalis Flower Extract, Zea Mays Starch, Pyrus Malus Fruit Extract, Sodium Benzoate, Potassium Sorbate, Citric Acid, Sodium Levulinate
Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice
Skin Conditioning
Butyrospermum Parkii Butter
Skin Conditioning
Alcohol Denat. Sd Alcohol 38-D
Solvent
Hydrolyzed Yeast
Skin ConditioningArgania Spinosa Kernel Oil
Emollient
Theobroma Grandiflorum Seed Butter
Skin Conditioning
Lecithin
Emollient
Rosa Damascena Flower Water
Masking
Euterpe Oleracea Fruit Oil
Skin Conditioning
Prunus Amygdalus Dulcis Oil
Skin Conditioning
Oryza Sativa Bran Extract
Skin Conditioning
Tocopherol
Antioxidant
Ascorbic Acid
Antioxidant
Citrus Sinensis Peel Oil Expressed
Perfuming
Glycerin
Humectant
Xanthan Gum
EmulsifyingAloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice, Butyrospermum Parkii Butter, Alcohol Denat. Sd Alcohol 38-D, Hydrolyzed Yeast, Argania Spinosa Kernel Oil, Theobroma Grandiflorum Seed Butter, Lecithin, Rosa Damascena Flower Water, Euterpe Oleracea Fruit Oil, Prunus Amygdalus Dulcis Oil, Oryza Sativa Bran Extract, Tocopherol, Ascorbic Acid, Citrus Sinensis Peel Oil Expressed, Glycerin, Xanthan Gum
Ingredients Explained
These ingredients are found in both products.
Ingredients higher up in an ingredient list are typically present in a larger amount.
Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice comes from leaves of the aloe plant. Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice is best known for helping to soothe sunburns. It is also anti-inflammatory, moisturizing, antiseptic, and can help heal wounds.
Aloe is packed with good stuff including Vitamins A, C, and E. These vitamins are antioxidants, which help fight free-radicals and the damage they may cause. Free-radicals are molecules that may damage your skin cells, such as pollution.
Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice also contains sugars. These sugars come in the form of monosaccharides and polysaccharides, folic acid, and choline. These sugars are able to help bind moisture to skin.
It also contains minerals such as calcium, 12 anthraquinones, fatty acids, amino acids, and Vitamin B12.
Learn more about Aloe Barbadensis Leaf JuiceThis ingredient is also known as shea butter. It is a plant-derived extract from the nuts of the Africa shea tree and one of the most well-studied emollients.
Because it has a high concentration of fatty acids (primarily oleic, stearic, and linoleic) it is able to form a protective barrier on the skin's surface. This helps seal in moisture and prevents transepidermal water loss (TEWL).
In vitro research found an increase in skin hydration by 58% and a decrease in TEWL by 37.8% after 24 hours of applying this ingredient (pretty impressive for a single ingredient!).
Besides hydration, shea butter also contains triterpenes that have anti-inflammatory potential. In particule, lupeol cinnamate has shown the highest anti-inflammatory activity in vivo.
Shea butter also contains vitamins A and E which may contribute to antioxidant activity.
While Shea Butter has an SPF rating of about 3-4, it is not a sunscreen replacement.
This ingredient may not be fungal acne safe because its fatty acids fall within the C11-C24 range that the Malassezia yeast can metabolize.
Learn more about Butyrospermum Parkii ButterGlycerin (or glycerol) is a compound naturally found in your skin. It's a powerhouse humectant that pulls water into the stratum corneum.
Topically, glycerin does several things at once:
Your skin makes glycerin on its own (mostly from sebaceous oil breakdown) and shuttles it to your outermost layer of skin, or your epidermis, via aquaporin-3.
Aquaporin-3 is a transporter that is essential for normal skin hydration, elasticity, and repair. Interestingly, mice lacking in AQP3 have dry and less elastic skin that can be fully corrected with glycerin.
This ingredient is non-irritating, plays well with almost every ingredient, and works across all skin types. Typical use is anywhere between 3-10% but can go up to 79% in some leave-on products.
Just know very high concentrations (>40%) can feel tacky in low humidity.
Glycerin is the name for this ingredient in American English. British English uses Glycerol/Glycerine.
Learn more about GlycerinThis ingredient is also known as sweet almond oil. It is a lightweight, cold-pressed oil from the ripe seeds of the sweet almond tree.
Sweet almond oil is rich in skin-nourishing fatty acids such as oleic acid (55-86%) and linolenic acid (7-35%).
As an emollient, it softens and hydrates skin by forming a thin barrier that locks in moisture.
Clinical studies have found it to be non-irritating and non-sensitizing. The CIR Expert Panel has evaluated the available safety data and concluded it is safe for topical use.
Because of the oleic acid content, this ingredient may not be fungal acne safe.
Learn more about Prunus Amygdalus Dulcis OilTocopherol is a fat-soluble antioxidant known as Vitamin E.
You'll find this ingredient in the vast majority of skincare (for good reason). It works to neutralize free radicals, or unstable molecules generated by UV exposure, pollution, and other environmental stressors, before they can cause oxidative damage to your skin cells.
Topically applied tocopherol has been shown to protect against UV damage by ramping up the skin's own natural defense enzymes.
It also acts as a skin conditioning agent; some studies show that regular topical use can improve the skin's water-binding capacity over 2-4 weeks.
This ingredient is especially loved for being a team player. When combined with Vitamin C, the photoprotective effect of both ingredients roughly doubles and the combo also helps reduce UV-induced DNA damage.
This ingredient has some brightening potential but it's more of a prevention ingredient than spot-fader. Cell studies show it can slow down melanin production but it's worth noting that it's not the most powerful brightener out there.
In formulations, it also serves as a stabilizer that helps protect other oxidation-prone ingredients from degrading.
Concentrations usually range from 0.1-1% in most leave-on products.
Learn more about TocopherolXanthan gum is used as a stabilizer and thickener within cosmetic products. It helps give products a sticky, thick feeling - preventing them from being too runny.
On the technical side of things, xanthan gum is a polysaccharide - a combination consisting of multiple sugar molecules bonded together.
Xanthan gum is a pretty common and great ingredient. It is a natural, non-toxic, non-irritating ingredient that is also commonly used in food products.
Learn more about Xanthan Gum
